The Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces has backed calls for the details of a United Nations report into the death of Private Seán Rooney to be provided to his family.
Lieutenant General Seán Clancy said he agreed with Tánaiste Micheál Martin that "all of the facts, and those contained within the [UN] report should be made available to the coroner".
In an interview with RTÉ's This Week, he also said it is "unconscionable that anyone would blame Private Rooney" for actions he took on the day of the attack.
The solicitor for Pte Rooney’s family Darragh Mackin has said there had been "a noxious narrative" that Pte Rooney had taken a wrong turn on the day.
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However Lt Gen Clancy said: "There is no blame being attributed to Pte Rooney, and it's unconscionable that anyone would attribute blame in those circumstances."
The peacekeeper was driving a UN-marked vehicle when he and his colleagues were fired on by armed men in the town of Al-Aqbiya on 14 December 2022.
They were travelling as part of a two-vehicle convoy on an administrative run to Beirut Airport from the Irish UN base, Camp Shamrock in southern Lebanon.
Lt Gen Clancy said delays in getting answers and accountability for what happened to Pte Rooney were a source of "frustration for everybody".
A military court in Lebanon has indicted seven men in relation to the attack.
Only one of the seven men charged, Mohammad Ayyad, has ever been detained.
He was subsequently released for health reasons.
The others accused were deemed fugitives and the case was put back for trial in absentia in February 2025.
Asked if he was hopeful that justice would emerge from the criminal process under way in Lebanon, Lt Gen Clancy said: "I think we demand justice. Hopeful is a different issue."
"The pace at which justice is proceeding is frustrating… and justice delayed is, of course, justice denied."
"Until we get to that point of truth and full accountability, I think justice will always be denied in this case."
